Exercise science graduate Steve Hlavac uses his business to help others

“Helping people is my goal,” says Steve Hlavac ’12, founder and owner of Beyond Measure Training in Naperville. His business was founded on that principle and his life reflects it.

Steve Hlavac ’12 has always loved fitness and training. An exercise science graduate, he’s the all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards in Cardinal football and was an outfielder in baseball. That passion led to helping college friends with personal training and evolved into a career and the launch of Beyond Measure Training.

A personal training club, Beyond Measure Training provides individual attention in small structured classes or one on one. “People want to experience success when training, and they do here. They progress through levels of training and become really good at what they’re doing, which is motivating and empowering in other areas of life, too,” says Hlavac. “Helping people is my goal. I’ve done everything I can to be prepared to do that.”

That preparation started at North Central when a faculty member he barely knew confronted him about his obsession with sports and apathy toward studies. He admits he wouldn’t have graduated if she hadn’t set up a plan so he could finish. “She held me accountable, which I needed, and told me I could achieve. Since then, I’ve tried to hold myself accountable every day.”

Since graduating from North Central, he’s become CPR, AED and FMS certified and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He also is Training For Warriors-certified, a physical and mental training program. He studied the business and sales side of fitness on his own and followed his passion.

From college coaches who opened their properties as workout spaces, to connections he’s made with business partners, North Central College has been part of his journey. At Beyond, he’s working to set up internships for exercise science majors and his girlfriend Kate Crawford ’12 is a certified fitness trainer.

Hlavac committed to donate a portion of Beyond’s earnings every year to a charity that represents qualities such as hard work, perseverance, courage and dedication and service to others. The first year’s donation will go to the Shaun Wild Memorial Scholarship at North Central College. The late Shaun Wild ’12 was Hlavac’s roommate, football teammate, best friend and role model.

“Shaun was the most successful person I had ever known. Success is a journey and Shaun was in the middle of his journey when his life was taken. If you can learn that success is not a destination, you can achieve it every single day. Not many people do, but Shaun did.”

Recently, Hlavac offered his business as a drop-off site to help collect and distribute supplies to people who were impacted by the Nov. 17 tornadoes in Illinois. He and Crawford personally delivered supplies to Coal City, Crawford’s hometown.